Like many of you, I’ve been reflecting on 2018. I’ve been very fortunate. My year was filled with good health for myself and my family. Professionally, my business as a personal trainer—and now nutrition coach—is thriving and it enables me to have a desirable balance of work and family time. I am truly grateful for all that I have, and all the people who surround me and build me up.

Here are my top 5 highlights of 2018

1. My proudest professional accomplishment was acquiring my Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification, the industry’s top education program. After months of reading, writing and testing, I completed this comprehensive course in August.

2. Active Moms’ Club continues to thrive! 2018 wraps its tenth year of operation—10 YEARS! Woot Woot! It was a record-breaking year with over 100 unique new moms participating in our Postnatal Recovery class. And in the Fall, AMC launched a brand new fitness and nutrition program, 90-Days of YOU! It’s been wildly successful. It’s what our mamas wanted and needed; a comprehensive nutrition program so AMC moms can truly lead their family by example— through fitness AND nutrition.

3. In 2018, I did something I’ve never done before—work with a business coach. Profound. It’s been educational on many levels. And with the help of my coach, I’ll debut AMC’s first FREE online event in January, Mama’s 5-Day Selfcare Reboot. It’ll definitely be a test of my online presence; I’ll be sharing the course LIVE inside of AMC’s Facebook forum. (It could be a record breaking week…I may take a shower five days in a row!) Tune in, I’d LOVE your support!

4. My greatest fitness accomplishment in 2018 was staying injury free! If you know me, you know that is quite an accomplishment! 2017 was all about the pull-up (still maintaining 2-4 strict pull-ups on any given day), but this year was all about the BUTT—literally. My training has been focused on lower body strength, and it’s working! I’ve hit a max deadlift of 160 pounds with the trap bar; any heavier and my body starts to disagree. That’s the beauty of getting older and wiser, I have nothing to prove so I have learned to respect my limits.

5. My proudest mom moment —my twin boys entering second grade in September. They are becoming better readers, writers, problem solvers, and continue to grow individually. H loves all things fury and cute, and W loves any sport with a ball. They’ve had remarkable intellectual and developmental growth in their seventh year of life. My boys and my husband are the sunshine in my every day.

I look forward to 2019’s journey and all that it will bring to my family and I. Share one of your highlights of 2018 on AMC’s Facebook wall! I’d especially love to hear from any one of the hundreds of mamas who has come through AMC’s doors over the last decade.

If you’re not already, follow me on AMC’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. I have lots of prenatal and postnatal fitness tips, nutrition tips, and personal moments to share with you in 2019.

As a mom of twins I’m always looking for services that will help make my life easier.
If you aren’t already in the know, I’m about to let you in on a secret that will make airport travel ten times more convenient than you’ve ever experienced. Gone are the days of “divide and conquer” with your spouse when you arrive and depart Chicago O’Hare International airport.

I heard about OPV through another twin mom who recently traveled to Florida. My husband and I were teetering about whether to hire a car service to drop us off at airport, or pay to park our car at O’Hare while our family vacationed in Mexico. We didn’t need our car seats for Mexico, so we would incur additional fees to rent them to get to airport via a car service. So when I heard a client’s rave reviews about OVP and it’s convenience, we made our reservation with them immediately.

O’Hare Personal Valet service is the most convenient travel service known to parents!

Here’s how it works.

We made an online reservation with OVP a week before our trip. On our day of travel, I texted our OVP driver (of course, the non-driving spouse would do this task) when we were are about to arrive at O’Hare. We received a picture of our valet with our registration confirmation, so we knew who we were looking for, and our valet knew the make and color of our car. As we pulled up our personal valet met us curbside at our departure airline. He promptly saw our car and walked over to introduce himself and helped us unload our luggage. The whole transaction took a whopping five minutes – or about the time it took to get two kids out of their car seats and luggage out of the trunk. Our entire family conveniently walked into the warm airport and he drove our car to their remote parking lot two miles away. (OVP also offers other services for your car; for additional fees it can be washed, waxed or detailed).

**Note: OPV has changed their departure procedure of their service. Last winter when we used OPV, we picked up our valet at their office 2 miles away from O’Hare. After arriving at departure gate, valet helped us unload our car and he drove our car to OPV’s remote parking lot.

On our flight home we texted our same driver to let him know we landed. Once we retrieved our bags we texted him again and gave him our exit door number at arrival. He pulled up in our warm car and the boys and I buckled in as my husband and valet loaded up our luggage. We drove away in the comfort of our own car without the hassle of retrieving it ourselves. Score! Especially at 7pm after a long day of travel!

Having the option to have our own car valet parked at the airport made our travel so much more convenient and saved us at least an hour of time — and as a parent, time is critical and convenience is king!

Share with us, what is your go-to service or product that makes traveling with little ones more convenient?

April 28 marks the one year anniversary of when I began my new nutrition habits—learning what ‘good nutrition’ really looks and feels like. (If you want a refresher to put this post in perspective, read this first: “I Followed A Nutrition Plan for 60-Days. Here’s What Happened“.) What I have since learned is that good nutrition isn’t about ‘following the rules”, or ‘being strict’, or the numbers. Good nutrition is about enabling a happier, healthier and fuller life.

As the seasons change, activity levels vary, and family and holiday celebrations take place, my awareness continues to grow. Here’s a recap of what I’ve learned, my newfound habits, and how I’ve been doing over the last 12 months:

1. Long-Term View—Having experienced all four seasons with my new nutrition habits, I have come to realize that there is a natural ebb and flow with body weight and seasons—regardless of my best efforts to maintain energy balance. I’ve seen this cyclically happen in the past—Aug/Sept/Oct I’m at my peak athletic performance and lowest weight of the year. Enter winter, and energy balance becomes more challenging. My body wants to hold on to a few extra pounds and I get less daily movement during winter months. Of course there are numerous occasions to indulge with holiday celebrations and family birthdays. These events are a part of life, of living, but the difference now is that I know how to ‘right the course’. My general direction is forward and up, this cycling is just part of the process. I gain a bit more insight about myself from this cycling process. Sometimes we just need to ‘slip up’ to move forward.

2. Day To Day View—I have established a keen awareness of my nutrition choices. Some days I feel in control, others I do not and want to eat anything in sight. On days I feel challenged I can (mostly) recognize the emotions or event that triggers why I feel out of control. I consciously choose to have an indulgence—or not. This is a major breakthrough as I have lived the majority of my life thoughtlessly eating. Because I can recognize my ‘slip-ups’ I now accept them without guilt. Food is food. Food does not make us a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ person.

3.Water, Veggies, Protein, Fats & Intolerances—
As a result of cleaning up my nutrition—drinking lots of water, eating more green vegetables than ever, consuming lean sources of protein at EVERY meal, and choosing healthy fats—my body works more efficiently and I can feel that in my workouts, and in daily life. Overall I have more energy, and my skin looks healthier. Eating clean brings more sensitivity to food intolerances. For me, most dairy products cause bloating and gas. (Yup, these digestive issues are usually food related). I have to make a conscious choice if certain foods are worth the uncomfortable side-effects. I do love my pizza, I don’t eat it as often as I used to!

4. Eating With Awareness—
I try my best to continue to eat each meal with attention and awareness; and practice intentional connection with my body—listening when its hungry, satisfied, or full. These have been the two most profound practices that I have learned over the last year. I had a tendency to overeat and suffer from the discomfort and guilt that came along with it. Not today.

5. Body Composition—
By eating more lean protein and increasing my weight training sessions over the last year, my lean muscle mass and strength have significantly increased. The tone of my muscles have increased, especially in my upper body. I continue to set new personal records with my strength gains, like completing SIX strict pull-ups in October! (However, with peaks comes valleys, today I more consistently hit FOUR consecutive pull-ups…on a really really good day, five reps!)

6. High-intensity Workouts & Breakthrough Moment—
High-intensity workouts and high-intensity cardio are essential to maintain my desired body fat percentage. This breakthrough surfaced two months ago when I injured my back and had to limit high-intensity and heavy weight workouts—that meant no running, stair climbing, no swinging or squatting heavy kettlebells. My nutrition and weight remained mostly stable with typical one-two pound fluctuations, but I watched my body fat percentage slowly creep up two to three percent. I’ve progressively incorporated 1-4 weekly high-intensity workouts back into my routine three weeks ago and already see a 1% decline in my body fat percentage. This is eye-opening, and verifies the importance of high-intensity workouts for maintenance and fat loss (not just weight loss) for me, AND clients!

7. Weight—
Over the last year, I have been able to maintain my new ‘comfort zone’ weight (126-127), which effortlessly slid down to 124-126 in my ‘peak’ athletic months! My old ‘comfort zone’ weight (131-132) is officially a thing of the past. I have only seen the scale go above 129 pounds a couple of times in 12 months (safe to say that was around Christmas time, and it was only temporary)! Good nutrition and smart workouts are here to stay!

8. Precision Nutrition Level One Certification—
My journey over the last year and my desire to help my clients be the very best version of themselves has inspired me to pursue Precision Nutrition Level One Certification— it’s is the world’s most respected nutrition education program. I’m eager to continue to expand my skill set, as it will give me the knowledge, systems, and tools to really understand how food influences a person’s health and fitness!

It’s incredible to see how much I’ve evolved physically and emotionally over the last year. This evolution also touches clients who have participated in AMC’s 60-Days of YOU! Fitness & Nutrition Program born in September 2017 after my personal nutrition breakthrough. This program has already supported 46 women whom have lost a collective 213 pounds, with most losing 0.5 to 3.0 inches in their hips & waists while participating in AMC’s Fit & Fab training sessions and following 60-Days of YOU! nutrition program. Additionally, these moms have new-found energy, and fulfilling new self-care habits while maintaining a healthier weight.

60-DAYS OF YOU! PROGRAM

AMC’s Summertime 60-Days of YOU! Fitness & Nutrition program— begins April 21 through June 19— eight weeks of fitness and nutrition guidance that will take the guesswork out of slimming down, getting fit and establishing a healthy relationship with food and exercise. There is still time to join us! Together, Coach Cassandra and Coach Katie will help you create a map for your new healthy habits and create a strategy to make them stick!

Like many of you, I’ve been reflecting on 2017. I’ve been very fortunate—my year was filled with good health for myself and my family. Professionally, my business as a personal trainer continues to thrive and enables me to have a desirable balance of work and family time. I’m grateful for all that I have.

Here are my top 6 highlights of 2017

1. My proudest fitness moment is making great progress with my overall strength! A personal goal for 2017 was to be able to complete 2 strict pull-ups and I got up to SIX! Another personal record (PR) includes finishing 3rd overall woman for completing a 24kg Turkish Get-Up in the PRT Kettlebell competition in November!

2. Active Moms’ Club continues to thrive, celebrating NINE years of business! 2017 was a record-breaking year with over 100 unique new moms participating in our Postnatal Recovery class and adding a new, successful fitness & nutrition program, 60-Days of YOU! I find AMC moms to be an incredible source of inspiration to me!

3. AMC has a new home! In May we moved our training location to Goose Island Crossfit (1750 N Kingsbury Avenue) in Lincoln Park and everyone is LOVING our new location and facility. We still have a free & convenient parking lot, and lots of space!

4. In November I earned my Level 1 Russian Kettlebell Certification through Dragon Door. This was the logical next step for my formal education with kettlebells. I love teaching women how to safely use kettlebells–and they are reaping the benefits too!

5. In May 2017 I made the commitment and hired a nutrition coach to learn what healthy eating looks like. I transformed my body in 60-short days (read about it here) and now bring this experience to AMC moms with our 60-Days of YOU! Program.

6. My proudest mom moment was when my twin boys entered 1st grade. They’ve had such remarkable intellectual and developmental growth over the last year. They are the sunshine in my every day.

I look forward to 2018’s journey and what it has to bring for me and my family. Share one of your highlights of 2017 on AMC’s Facebook wall! Be sure to follow me on AMC’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. I have lots of prenatal and postnatal fitness tips, workouts, and personal moments to share in 2018.

For the last two weeks I’ve shared with you why I decided to hire a fellow colleague and trainer to help me take the guess work out of my food choices. What she gave to me was much more valuable than any nutrition plan, (read initial post here, and part 2 here). And now my clients want to know how I’ve been faring…

MEASUREMENTS

I started my nutrition plan on April 28. My ‘perceived set’ body weight was 133 pounds and the percentage of body fat as recorded on my home scale hovered at 27%. Within four weeks of following the nutrition plan my weight dropped to 128 pounds! A solid five pound weight loss by changing what I ate, when I ate, and how much I ate. Weighing in under 130 is a HUGE deal for me; it usually took a weekly running volume of 15-25 miles to achieve and maintain this weight. I always thought I needed to run to maintain a lower number on the scale! I now know different. This is unchartered territory for me!

*Note, the only change in my workout is that I added a consistent third weight training session each week. The main variable that was altered in this eight week period was my nutrition and more consistent water intake.

Aside from the weight loss, what was more powerful to me were the caliper and circumference measurements. In the first four weeks I lost 1.0” from my waist AND hips. My right thigh which has always been oddly larger, reduced in circumference by 1.25”! I also feel a difference in the texture of my skin, it’s more supple. Personally I think I look a couple of years younger! This skin texture difference may very well be from the fish oil supplements I have been taking daily since May 1.

I was a little surprised to see the measurements continue to change as much as they did for the last four weeks. With any journey, I had my ups and downs with staying on track. We had guests in town, we ate out more than usual, and let’s be honest, I was completely altering the way I ate. Initially it was a real challenge. I did the best I could with my nutrition choices when we were out, trying to stay the path, and course correcting as soon as possible—and it all paid off. There was less weight loss in June, but my body mass continued to change. The body fat percentage on my home scale June 19 was 23.0%, down 4% since when I started!

I lost 7 pounds of body fat and gained 1 pound of lean muscle mass in eight weeks following may nutrition plan.

If you asked me 15 years ago–even 5 years ago, what was the least favorite part of my body—my answer would have been a swift and resounding answer…THIGHS. I have never liked my legs, for as long as I could remember. I actually have contemplated liposuction because I thought that I was doing everything possible to reshape them; everything but re-haul my nutrition. I LIKE my legs now. My thighs don’t rub together anymore when I walk. There is actually a small gap between my thighs when I stand. I’m so impressed!

I have enjoyed every step in this process. I have a new found identity. I have changed my eating habits and frankly, I did not anticipate the physical and emotional changes to happen so quickly. It was a lot of work at the beginning, and I’m grateful to have the full support from my husband who helps with meal preparation and shopping—it makes a world of difference. To think I was ‘just’ looking to reduce my body fat and hone in more control. What I received is far more valuable than a nutrition plan. I now know that if (when) I find myself slipping away from my new eating habits, I KNOW I have the tools to be re-routed. I have my own GPS—and I know it works.

HOW AM I DOING NOW?

Do I still follow my nutrition plan? Yes and no. I know the macronutrients (protein:fat:carbs) and the portions that I need to eat for each meal and I follow that closely during the week with liberties when we eat out, or are out of town. I don’t always weigh my food, I know how to eye-ball portions pretty well now. I definitely continue to eat timely—every 2-3 hours to keep my metabolism fed—and drink plenty of water.

Do I eat desserts, pizza and ice cream? Yep. I’ve had an ice cream cone once a week for the last few weeks. I do love my chocolate too. I’ve had a couple of over-consumption moments lately and I’m tackling those emotions when they come up. The difference now is that I have the tools to re-route; to not feel guilty when I overeat, and accept that I had a moment and move on.

Is it a lot of work to meal prep for me and rest of family. Yes. My husband usually cooks a few days worth of protein at the beginning of the week for him and I. I tend to return to the grocery store once or twice a week to stock up on greens or buy more prepared protein when time is limited to cook. In the beginning it was a lot more work because it was a new routine, but we’ve got a groove going now and it’s just the new norm. I’d like to say my boys eat what we eat at dinner time, but we’re not that family. At least one boy gets a different meal because he dislikes any sort of animal protein.

Are you still seeing changes in your body? Yes. I’ve lost two more pounds since June (125 pounds today!) and I’m not really ‘trying’ to lose more weight, I just have new eating habits. I’m a little in disbelief. I re-weigh myself in the mornings because I think the scale is broken. I cannot remember a time in the last decade when I weighed 125. To be honest it doesn’t feel like effort right now. I’m eating smarter, working out smarter and continue to get stronger.

Do I drink wine and beer? Yes, but it has always been in moderation. I’m not a big wine drinker, one glass makes me tipsy. I do enjoy my beer though. I tend to drink 2-3 beers over the weekend in the summer.

Do I ever overindulge and eat too much? It’s happened a few times. I’m more aware of my actions and try to figure out why I’m really overeating. I eat out of emotion—we all do. If I can label the emotion, I’m more apt to do a re-route. (And the re-route may not happen at the moment I’m overeating, but rather a day or week later. It’s a process.)

Do I feel like I’m denying myself? Nope, not one bit. If I’m really craving something I’ll eat it.

*BRAND NEW!* AMC’s 60-Days of YOU! program—eight weeks of fitness and nutrition guidance that will take the guesswork out of slimming down, getting fit and establishing a healthy relationship with food and exercise. Coach Cassandra will help you create a guidance map for your new health habits and create a strategy to make them stick! Join us and make the commitment to honor yourself for the next 60-days. To lean more…